Storage of water is essential before distribution to the consumer through a pipeline. To this end, water tanks of various sizes and kinds are used. Tanks made out of metal, brick and mortar are now giving way to those of plastic or synthetic materials due to various reasons like cost effectiveness, ease of installation and maintenance, non-susceptibility to leakages, etc. Wooden water tanks are also in use in certain regions of the world.
However, one cause of concern in all kinds of water tanks currently available is its poor level of cleanliness and that of its contents. Water entering the tank from the city's water source invariably contains some foreign matters. Over a period of time the foreign matters in the form of suspended impurities settles to the bottom of the tank and requires periodic cleaning. It is not unusual for a tank to accumulate anywhere up to an inch or so of muddy sediments over a period of time, a residue that pose severe health hazard for the consumers.
Water tanks have not changed much during the past hundred years or so. Some of the techniques used in their construction have been improved resulting in shorter manufacturing and installation time, but the overall principle of water tanks remains unchanged.
Conventional water tanks in use are either rectangular or cylindrical in shape in general and the outlet for supply of water to consumers is at a point on its sidewall slightly above its bottom. This point is so chosen so as to allow all the suspended contaminants, dirt and muddy substances in the water to settle down on the bottom surface that do not pass into the supply outlet located above the deposited sediments. These impurities keep on depositing on the floor of the tank turning into a sludge over a period of time, which require to be thoroughly scrubbed in order to dislodge it effectively. This cleaning is an elaborate process requiring some preparation and stoppage of water supply to the consumers for a considerable period. Considerable time and effort is spent in scrubbing out those sticky deposited materials. Since the outlet from the tank is a bit above the bottom, all the scrubbed material along with water remaining below this outlet requires to be lifted and thrown out with the help of buckets, mugs, or by other means. This is followed by sponge drying of the bottom surface and disinfecting the inside walls of the tank. All this is a lengthy and clumsy process and still does not assure a high level of cleanliness. Further, it may leave scratches on the floor of the tank that may corrode the tank progressively. Also, the lengthiness of the process tends to reduce its frequency, thereby compelling the consumers to consume harmful contaminated water indefinitely.
During the daily chore of filling of tank, the falling mass of water inside the tank dislodges part of the said layer of sediments from the floor and this material rises above to dance and revolve with the agitated mass of water. This continues till the filling of water progresses. It also settles partly on the side walls of the tank thereby dirtying them as well. Most of these foreign matters remain in a suspended state owing to buoyancy for considerable time and continue to pass on to the supply route away from the tank. Till such time the users are forced to continue consuming such contaminated water for various uses in the bath, kitchen, washing, etc., and for drinking. Also, a part of the impurities and dirt, which is soluble, gets dissolved during the swirling agitation of water and may not be detected visually. All this make the supplied water a carrier of impurities which gets thicker and denser with every passing day and good part of it is also deposited on the inside wall of the water supply line thereby reducing the flow rate with passage of time. This is a compulsion everyone lives with which is not realized because the dirty scene of action happens to be away in the closed tank at the top of the building and one cannot make out dirtiness by simply looking at the water at the receiving end.
It is true that some people keep water filters at the users' end in order to get clean potable water. But there are again several factors that decide the quality of water one gets from it. These may be like quality assurance associated with that filter, whether that filter is properly maintained or not with timely replacement of cartridges, candles, etc. Again, water filters are primarily used for the purpose of drinking water only. Bulk of the water supply is directly used during bathing, brushing teeth, washing mouth after meals, food preparation, etc. Therefore, one still remains vulnerable to the dirty water coming from the supply route from that overhead tank.
So, a vast majority of human population, with the exception of those people who live in remote areas where such tanks are not used for storage of potable water, has no way but to consume such contaminated water.
Potable water is a basic necessity of life and deserves the same level of care, cleanliness and respect as any other food item. Every utensil handling food items is given a complete washing in dishwasher or manually and in the same fashion the water storage tank should be maintained with complete renewal of stored water regularly. This does not happen in the conventional tank and total cleanliness is erroneously presumed. With every filling of the tank, certain amount of stale water remains in the bottom along with those muddy sediments. It is happening despite countless people being involved in the business of storage water tank right from design and manufacture, distribution and dealers' network to plumbing and installation and finally to end users. Also, there is a vast network of tank maintenance and cleaning companies and establishments which specialize in the expertise of tank cleaning. These people follow elaborate processes for the job and charge substantially. In spite of the involvement of technical people, the scenario remains the same.
So, an urgent solution was needed so that the regular renewal of the water content in the tank is possible in order to ensure a high cleanliness level of water within the tank in a cost effective, convenient and time-saving manner.
The objective of this invention is to present a solution in the shape of an improved design of a water tank and a method of cleaning the same which ensures a comparatively much higher level of cleanliness of water for the consumers. It ensures complete renewal of the water content of the tank in an extremely convenient method which can be carried out regularly and swiftly with utmost ease in a cost effective manner.